In a client/customer oriented world, servicing the client/customer through the efficient, timely and up-to-date collection and management of data is more important than ever. As organizations look for ever smaller edges over the competition, it is a must to increase their productivity in field data collection and analysis. One such edge can be had by the streamlining of the movement of client/customer data along with complex business rules, work flow and validations from the organizational enterprise to the field and vice versa. Being able to disseminate data or information efficiently are measurable ways to lower costs, increase revenues, optimize productivity and improve process management.
Accordingly, once an organization has decided to implement a new solution for their data collection and management needs, certain necessary factors need to be considered. While specific tools provided to organizations differ among the configurable mobile platform products, there is a standard set of criteria any mobile platform provider should be able to deliver. Some of these elements include:                A strong architecture and robust feature set that can deploy applications to a mobile taskforce quickly, that is in days/weeks rather than months/years.        The ability to create an organization's mobile application once and then deploy it to various mobile devices such as SmartPhones, PDAs or Tablets. This way the organization is never tied to one technology.        Implementation of a technology that is proven in the real world and can be rapidly deployed.        Solutions should be easy to use by both executives and non-professional workers. Thus, a low learning curve is necessary.        The ability to migrate all existing business rules/logic and validation from a backend system to the mobile application, therefore decreasing any learning curve and increasing productivity.        
However, it is no longer enough to simply base decisions on a features list a solution offers, but decisions must also now be based on the technology and architecture that is behind the solution.
Currently, many software developers and business organizations are intrigued by the simple system architecture of what is referred to as a “thin client”. The reason being is that deployment and updates to the application are fairly simple since the application would reside on a web server and use a browser on the mobile client device to access the same application. The downside of this approach is that this solution would require a constant wireless connection in order for users to access the application, which may not be feasible in many environments.
Alternatively, a “smart client” system architecture model is when the application as well as the data, business rules and validations, all reside locally on the mobile client device. Data exchange is periodic and thus eliminates the need for a constant wireless connection.
The table below outlines the pros and cons of each approach to the system architecture model:
Smart ClientThin ClientProsProductivity sinceQuick Time to Marketdata resides locallyNo Lag TimeEasy UpdatesSecurityPortabilityConserve Battery PowerSecurityConsSlower Time to marketProductivity goes down asNot as Portableconnectivity goes downFrustration of response time ifconnectivity goes downMore wireless activity willconsume more battery life
After reviewing the pros and cons it can be seen that the “thin client” approach will definitely lead to a quicker deployment and easier management of the solution, but the lack of productivity and acceptance by end users can result in a lack of or negative return on investment.
Thus, as can be seen, problems exist with each of the system architecture model approaches and the resultant “thin” or “smart” client approaches. If a solution offered a way to minimize the time to market as well as the effort required to support future updates, then the cons of a “smart client” would nearly disappear and the pros of such a solution would far outweigh those of a “thin client”.